Do you like the sound of horse power? Do you go crazy for the smell of petroleum? Do you live for the wind in your face? If yes, you may ride a motorcycle. If you don't but you've always wanted a taste of the wild side of life perhaps you should check out Vegas Trike Adventures.
Vegas Trike Adventures offers a couple of different tours. Today I took the Hoover Dam tour. Though I am local and could have driven to meet the tour group in Boulder City I chose to pick up the bus at the Tropicana. Other stops for more riders included Bally's and the Golden Nugget. Tropicana was the first on the schedule. The bus (very large van) was a few minutes late but not too bad. What made us most late to the party was the traffic approaching Rail Road Pass. Damn construction delays.
When we made it to Boulder City we stopped at the Albertsons for a restroom and snack break. Then we boarded the van once again and drove around the back to find our chariots waiting for us.
Next on the agenda was a crash course (or how not to crash course) on how to operate these mighty beasts. By which I mean either a 150cc or 300cc Ice Bear motor trike. They are fairly simple. After our safety breifing we were asked to mount our steeds and practice setting and realeasing the brakes and starting/stopping the motor. This was followed by several minutes of figure-8's to familiarize ourselves with the handling capabilities, the power and the braking. From there we hit the open road.
We headed down Highway 93 single file right and tight all the way to the Hoover Dam security post and eventually to Arizona to park and look down upon the engineering marvel that is Hoover Dam. The ride there saw us going as slow as 25 MPH and as fast as 50 MPH. It was all very exciting for somebody like me who is more accustomed to four wheel enclosed modes of transportation. We were given some history of the dam and surrounding areas before departing.
After our brief stay at the dam we headed back towards Boulder City making a stop at the Lake Mead overlook. We were given some information about the lake such as how long it has been since it was at capacity. We didn't stay here for long as there was a second group waiting for the trikes back in Boulder City. We were on the road again.
Maybe a mile or so from base camp my trike started sputtering. I thought it was going to stall. I pulled off to the side of the road as did the one trike behind me and the chase van. But the trike kept going like the Little Engine That Could. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. And I did. I made it back as did the rest of the group. There was a bit of a hiccup with a rider a few trikes ahead of me. We were pulling through a gated area to park and the gate closed on him. It missed his leg but hit the trike hard. A little bit of a scary moment but everybody was safe
After a quick debreifing and waiting for a new bus, a more proper bus, to pick us up we headed back to Las Vegas. Tropicana was first up again as it was in the morning. I was first off the bus and on my way home by 3:10 PM. I was picked up at 9:00 AM. Pretty much an all day adventure. Most of the time was not spent riding but I was paying for the full experience. Down time and bus rides included. Not a bad way to spend a day away from the city life.